M3lo 


T- 


/ 


On  the  Railway  Connections  of  Philadelphia  with  the 
Central  West. 


LETTERS 


PROF.  il^DWARji  ij,  MxViNfeiJ^'iJliLJL), 


JUJi  K.   ii^l 


M'    ''l\' 


On  the  Railway  Connections  of  Pliiladelpliia  witli  tlie 
Central  West. 


LETTERS 


PEOF.  EDWARD  D.  MANSFIELD, 

OF  CINCINNATI, 


JOB  R.  TYSON,  Esq.,  LL.D. 

OF  PHILADELPHIA. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

JOHN  0.  CLARK,  PRINTKR,  68  DOCK  STREET. 
1853. 


Having  read  the  Letters  on  the  Railway  connections  of 
Philadelphia  with  the  Central  West,  written  by  Professor  Mans- 
field of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  believing  that  they  contain  most 
valuable  information  of  that  interesting  region,  we  ask  our  friend, 
J.  R.  Tyson,  to  permit  us  to  publish  them  in  pamphlet  form. 

JOHN  FARNUM  &  CO. 

Philadelphia,  1st  Mo.  6th,  1853. 


/  John  Farnum  &  Co. 

y  Gentlemen^I  place  in  your  hands  for  publication,  as  you 

fj  desire,  the  interesting  and  valuable  manuscript  of  Professor  Mans- 

t  field.     Be  pleased  to  let  your  note,  and  this  reply  precede  the 

^  Letters,  in  the  published  copy. 

qJ 

Very  respectfully,  your  friend, 

J.  R.  TYSON. 

^  Philadelphia,  January  6,  1853. 

r"  '^ 


INDEX. 


PAGE. 

1.  Direct  route,  geographically,  to  tidewater,        -         -  6 

2.  Marietta  and  Chillicothe  on  that  line,      -         .         .  3 

3.  Lake  routes  not  the  best, 8 — 9 

4.  Centralization  of  commerce  in  the  Ohio  valley,        -  10 — 11 

5.  River  and  lake  cities, 12 

6.  River  and  lake  navigation,      -----  13 — 14 

7.  Imports  of  western  produce  at  tidewater,         -         -  14 — 15 

8.  Centralization  of  railways  at  Cincinnati,  -         -  16 

9.  Southern  and  south-western  connections  with  Cin- 

cinnati, and  with  the  Marietta  line,            -         -  18 — 20 

10.  Change  of  trade  from  the  natural  route,  -         -  22 

11.  Philadelphia  connections, 24 

12.  Necessity  of  connecting  at  Marietta,        .         -         -  25 

13.  Railways  to  New  York  and  Philadelphia,       -         -  26 

14.  Hempfield  route, 27 

15.  Cincinnati  and  Marietta  line,  -         -         -         .  28 — 29 

16.  Hempfield  and  Marietta  connection,        -         -  -  29 

17.  Routes  from  Philadelphia  to  the  south-west,  by  Ma- 

rietta and  Big  Sandy, 30 — 32 

18.  Review, -  -  33—36 


LETTERS. 


LETTER  I. 

Cincinnati,  December  1,  1852. 
J.  R.  Tyson,  Esq. 

Dear  Sir, — While  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
last  autumn,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  reading  your 
letters  (addressed  to  my  friend,  William  Peter,  Esq. ) 
on  the  "Resources  and  Commerce  of  Philadelphia." 
They  illustrate  the  duty  of  every  good  citizen  to 
do  something  for  the  Republic;  and  also,  that  in 
our  country  its  best  statesmen  are  not  so  much 
those  clothed  with  official  authority  as  those  who, 
in  the  midst  of  the  people,  influence  their  thoughts 
and  opinions.  It  is  Sallust,  I  think,  who  says, 
''PuLCHRUM  est  bene  facere  reipuhUcce  ;  etiam  bene 
dicer e  haud  absurdum  est.^' 

Your  letters  brought  to  my  mind  several  interest- 
ing topics  connected  with  western  trade  and  Atlan- 
tic cities;  subjects  which  have  recently  occupied 
much  of  my  attention.  They  are  presented  to  me, 
a  citizen  of  Ohio,  in  the  midst  of  its  central  val- 
ley, at  a  different  point  of  view  from  which  they  are 
seen  by  a  citizen  of  New  York  or  Philadelphia.  I 
look  at  them  from  an  interior  point,  whence  the 
lines  of  trade  and  commerce  radiate  in  every  direc- 
tion ;  and  not  merely  from  the  circumference,  whence, 

A 


6 

in  regard  to  our  country,  the  lines  of  union  can  only 
point  inwards.  Allow  me,  therefore,  to  take  a  hint 
from  yourself,  and  address  a  letter  or  two  on  these 
public  interests  to  you,  an  enlightened  and  influen- 
tial citizen  of  Philadelphia.  My  subject  will  be 
"The  Railway  Connections  of  Philadelphia 
with  the  central  west."  Your  own  letters,  while  they 
are  more  distinctly  on  the  importance  of  foreign  com- 
merce, prove  what  is  plain  to  see,  in  all  the  Atlantic 
cities,  that  there  is  in  them  all  a  profound  conviction 
of  the  great  importance  of  the  western  trade,  and 
an  earnest  strife  to  share  in  its  profits.  The  ques- 
tion with  Philadelphia,  then,  is  precisely  what  it  is 
for  each  of  the  others.  "  What  is  the  shortest  and 
cheapest  route  to  the  central  west?"  For,  it  re- 
quires no  superior  sagacity  to  perceive,  that  on  the 
shortest  and  cheapest  line  the  largest  share  of  the 
traffic  will  pass.  The  strife  in  each  city  is  to  get 
the  shortest  line  possible.  In  regard  to  that  let  me 
make,  in  advance,  two  remarks.  The  first  is,  that 
when  we  come  to  ultimate  results,  the  geographical 
elements  of  the  country  must  ever  exercise  over 
trade  the  most  controlling  influence;  and,  secondly, 
that  in  regard  to  those  geographical  elements,  and 
their  ultimate  influences,  there  have  been,  and  are 
yet,  most  erroneous  ideas  entertained,  even  by  en- 
lightened men,  in  the  eastern  cities.  A  few  words 
will  explain  what  I  mean : 

First,  What  is,  geographically,  the  best  route  from 
the  central  valley  of  the  Ohio  to  tide-water?  I  will 
relate  to  you  some  of  the  pioneer  impressions  as 
they  were  told  me,  in  respect  to  the  best  route  from 
Ohio  to  the  east.     In  the  years  1803-5,  my  father, 


then  Surveyor  General  of  the  North-western  Ter- 
ritory, was  a  resident  of  Marietta.  His  predecessor, 
General  Rufus  Putnam,  was  also  there.  Judge 
Greene,  Mr.  Woodbridge,  Mr.  Elijah  Backus,  and 
other  gentlemen  of  education  and  intelligence,  were 
also  citizens.  No  steam  engines  had  then  propelled 
a  vessel,  or  a  locomotive.  No  iron  bars  had  then 
been  laid  on  the  Allegheny  ridge,  nor  had  Fulton  an- 
nounced, in  a  stage-coach  (as  he  afterwards  did),  to 
staring,  doubting,  and  wondering  travellers,  the 
marvellous  idea,  that  such  events  were  coming  !  The 
best  mode  of  conveyance  was  either  lumbering  wa- 
gons, on  land,  or  the  pine  ark  floating  with  the 
stream,  or  the  keel-boat,  poled  by  the  stalwart  arms 
of  men.  At  that  time,  those  intelligent  gentlemen 
speculated,  as  we  now  do,  by  the  firesides  of  Mari- 
etta, on  future  events.  One  of  the  topics  was,  the 
long  journey  to  the  east,  and  how  it  would  be  made. 
They  had  to  consider  the  question  by  the  light  they 
then  had:  and  you  see  at  once  that,  as  that  had  very 
little  control  over  nature,  their  views  were  chiefly 
modified  by  the  geographical  element.  Marietta, 
Chillicothe,  and  Cincinnati  were  then  the  leading 
towns  of  Ohio.  Washington  city  was  then  just 
founded,  and  regarded  as  the  central  point  of  the 
Union.  Looking  to  these  facts,  the  road  from  Cin- 
cinnati to  Chillicothe,  Marietta,  and  then,  through 
Clarksburg,  Virginia,  to  Washington  city,  was  re- 
garded as  the  future  great  route  of  travel  and  com- 
merce. This  was  based  on  the  geographical  idea, 
that  it  was  nearly  or  quite  the  most  direct  \me  pos- 
sible from  central  Ohio  to  navigable  tide-water. 
You  will    observe,    that  the  circuitous   route,    by 


8 

the  lakes,  was  never  thought  of — I  mean  in  re- 
gard to  the  Ohio  valley.  These  were  sagacious  and 
thoughtful  men.  They  knew,  although  at  that  time 
scarcely  a  ray  of  cultivation  had  penetrated  the  dark 
wilderness  of  the  west,  that,  in  Ohio  and  Kentucky, 
Indiana  and  Illinois,  were  the  most  arable,  grain- 
producing  lands  of  our  country,  if  not  the  world. 
In  the  private  letters  of  Washington  you  will  see 
that  he  knew  this  also,  and  that  the  acute  observers 
who  informed  him,  had  already  fully  comprehended 
the  richness  of  the  Miami  valley.  The  gentlemen 
at  Marietta,  to  whom  I  have  referred,  looking  at  this 
fact,  and  also  considering  that  the  surplus  produc- 
tions of  such  a  country  must  reach  tide-water  to 
find  markets,  concluded  that  the  direct  route  from 
Cincinnati,  through  Marietta  and  Clarksburg  was 
the  route.     Such  were  pioneer  impressions. 

You  will  admit  that,  geographically,  they  were 
right;  but,  since  then,  art  has,  by  new  inventions 
and  discoveries,  wonderfully  increased  its  power 
over  locomotion.  This  enables  it  to  modify^  but 
certainly  not  to  control  the  elements  of  nature. 
We  have  no  longer  one,  but  two  great  principles  to 
examine  in  their  bearings  on  interior  trade.  We 
have  the  geographical  element  of  position;  and  we 
have  the  artificial  element  of  steam  power;  each 
modifying  the  other.  The  great  principle,  however, 
that,  on  the  whole,  the  most  direct  line  is  the  best, 
cannot  be  changed.     It  is  a  final  truth. 

I  remarked  that,  on  this  subject,  there  are  even 
now,  in  some  of  the  eastern  cities,  very  errone- 
ous opinions.  These  opinions  are,  that  the  great 
rail  road  lines  are  those  which  are  directed  to,  or 


on,  the  basin  of  the  lakes.  Such  seems  to  me  to 
be  the  opinion  of  Boston  and  New  York.  I  hold 
that  to  be  a  great  mistake.  It  is,  however,  a  very 
natural  one.  If,  from  one  point  of  the  country  to  an- 
other, there  were  two  roads,  one  on  a  semi-circle,  but 
traversed  by  steam  cars;  the  other  on  the  diameter, 
but  a  mere  common  turnpike,  passed  over  by  wa- 
gons, the  whole  world  would  say,  the  semi-circular 
road  was  the  best.  Practically  it  is.  But  will  any 
intelligent  man  say,  that  a  road  with  the  same  mo- 
tive power,  and  the  same  construction,  over  the  dia- 
meter is  not  better  than  one  over  the  semi-circle  ? 
Such,  however,  is  the  precise  case  presented  be- 
tween those  long  lines  pointing  to  and  going  round 
the  basin  of  the  lake,  and  those  direct  lines  which 
cut  the  Alleghenies,  and  get  into  the  garden  valley 
of  the  Ohio.  One  is  on  a  circumference,  and  the 
other  on  a  diameter. 

You  have  yourself  traced  out  most  graphically 
the  origin  and  progress  of  this  erroneous  view,  and 
the  effect  of  the  lake  roads  upon  Philadelphia.  The 
superiority  of  New  York  commerce  began  when 
the  Erie  canal  was  finished;  and  it  has  now  received 
a  second  impetus  by  the  Erie  Rail  Road.  And, 
whence  do  they  get  their  trade  ?  Is  it  not  from 
lake  ports?  But,  whence  do  these  lake  ports  get 
their  trade?  Is  it  not  from  long  lines  of  lateral  ca- 
nals and  railways,  whose  ultimate  termination  is  on 
the  Ohio  river?  Eleven  hundred  miles  of  canal, 
and  five  hundred  miles  of  railway  connect  the  mouths 
of  those  lake  railways  with  the  perennial  foun- 
tains of  the  Ohio.  Thus  these  New  York  and 
New  England  lines  of  railway,   which  now  exert 


10 

such  a  prodigious  influence  on  the  commerce  of  the 
east  are,  in  reality,  merely  circumference  lines,  in 
regard  to  the  points  connected.  It  is  from  Phila- 
delphia and  Baltimore  the  DIAMETER  LINES  must  ruu. 
But  you  will  observe,  those  semi-circular  roads  are 
finished  and  in  operation,  while  yours  are  not  finish- 
ed. You  have  given  the  reason,  an  all-sufficient  rea- 
son (in  the  obstructions  of  the  Portage  Railway), 
why  the  Pennsylvania  works  could  not  compete 
with  the  Erie  Canal,  and  no  central  rail  road,  to  the 
central  west,  has  yet  been  completed.  There  is, 
and  has  been,  therefore,  no  competition  with  the  cir- 
cumference routes ;  and,  until  the  great  central  lines 
are  completed  to  Cincinnati  and  St.  Louis,  I  do  not 
expect  any  one  to  realize  the  commercial  revolution 
they  will  surely  produce. 

Having  made  these  general  remarks,  allow  me  to 
direct  your  thoughts  to  some  of  the  great  facts  in 
the  commerce,  growth,  navigation,  and  railways  of 
the  west — facts  which  the  Atlantic  cities,  striving 
for  a  share  in  the  wealth  and  trade  of  that  vast 
country,  should  be  most  thoroughly  acquainted 
with. 

The  first  of  these  facts  is  the  centralization 
OF  COMMERCE  in  the  Ohio  valley,  and  especially  at 
Cincinnati.  A  man,  who  is  merely  a  superficial  ob- 
server of  commercial  currents,  might  ask,  why  is  it 
necessary  to  seek  a  direct  route  to  Cincinnati  or  the 
lower  Ohio?  Has  not  experience  proved  that  the 
Erie  Canal,  and  the  Erie  Rail  Road,  and  the  Buf- 
falo railways,  will  draw  the  trade  of  the  west,  and 
that  New  York  and  Boston  capital  is  sufficient  to 
command  it?     Are  not  our  cars   and  boats  filled 


11 

with  traffic  and  passengers  derived  from  Cleveland, 
Sandusky,  Toledo,  Detroit,  Chicago,  and  Milwau- 
kie?  Are  they  not  the  granaries  of  the  west?  He 
might  say  this  with  some  plausibility,  if  he  looked 
only  at  the  shipments  from  those  ports ;  but  those 
towns,  or  the  lands  about  them,  are  no  more  the 
producers  of  those  products,  than  New  York  pays 
the  revenue  of  the  United  States,  because  a  large 
part  of  it  is  collected  there. 

Those  lake  ports  are  unquestionably  the  natural 
and  necessary  marts  for  whatever  trade  arises  from 
the  basin  of  the  lakes.  However  great  that  is,  it  is 
theirs.  But,  beyond  that,  their  commerce  cannot 
extend,  when  the  direct  lines  of  railway  in  the  val- 
ley of  the  Ohio  are  completed,  and  prolonged  to  the 
Atlantic  cities.  It  is  first  necessary  there  should 
be  a  grand  channel  of  movement  in  the  valley  of 
the  Ohio,  and  that  continued  and  connected  with 
Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and  whatever  cities  can 
make  the  connection.  When  that  is  done,  there 
will  be  a  real  and  a  permanent  competition  with  all 
the  circuitous  lines.  You  are  aware  that  the  whole 
of  this  grand  work  is  going  forward,  in  its  several 
parts,  from  St.  Louis  to  Cincinnati,  from  Cincinnati 
to  Belpre,  Marietta,  Wheeling,  Baltimore,  and 
Philadelphia.  I  say  this  by  the  way ;  for  I  am  now 
about  to  show  that  the  most  important  work  (as  a 
whole),  ever  undertaken  in  this  country,  is  fully 
justified  by  the  centralization  of  commerce  and 
population  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio. 

Looking  on  the  map  of  the  United  States,  you 
will  see  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  extends  from  the 
foot  of  the    Alleghenies,    in    North    Alabama,    to 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLIN§ld 


within  about  eighty  miles  of  Lake  Erie;  and  from 
Olean  (N.  Y.),  to  Cairo,  on  the  Mississippi,  a  sur- 
face of  about  250,000  square  miles.  Compared 
with  this  there  is,  except  the  peninsula  of  Michi- 
gan and  Northern  Wisconsin,  little  in  the  Lake 
basin.  Let  us  take  some  mode  of  comparison, 
such  as  the  cities  of  the  valley,  the  grain  produc- 
tions, and  the  commercial  navigation.  To  begin 
with  the  cities,  we  have  the  following  results : — 


The  River  Valley. 

The  Lake  Basin. 

Inhabitants. 

Inhabitants. 

Pittsburg,  Pa. 

80,000 

Buffalo,  N.  Y.             40,266 

Steubenville,  Ohio, 

7,000 

Cleveland,  Ohio,         17,074 

Wheeling,  Va. 

15,000 

Sandusky,      „               5,000 

Marietta,  Ohio, 

4,000 

Toledo,          „               4,000 

Portsmouth,  do. 

4,000 

Detroit,  Mich.             21,057 

Maysville,  Kr. 

8,000 

Chicago,  111.                  28,269 

Cincinnati,  Ohio, 

116,108 

Milwaukie,  Wise.       20,026 

M^arlismi    TnH 

8,000 
43,217 

XTXCZUIOV/IA,     XXAV&. 

Louisville,  Ky. 

Total,         135,692 

New  Albany,  Ind. 

8,000 

Evansville,         „ 

8,000 

St.  Louis,  Mo. 

82,744 

Total, 

384,069 

If  we  were  to  add  to  the  cities  of  the- Lakes  the 
population  of  New  Orleans,  Mobile,  and  Galves- 
ton, the  cities  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  we  should  fall 
nearly  an  hundred  thousand  short  of  the  population 
of  the  cities  in  the  Ohio  valley,  including  St.  Louis, 
which  is  on  the  great  railway  line.  So  also,  after 
deducting  all  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois,  which 
geographically  belonj^s  to  the  Lake  basin,  you  will 
find  that  the  population  of  the  Ohio  valley  is  more 


13 

than  double  that  which  belongs  to  the  lakes.  I 
'need  not  pursue  this  topic  further.  But  it  may  be 
said,  these  lake  towns  and  lake  States  are  new,  and 
will  grow  immensely.  So  they  will;  but  is  there 
no  growth  in  the  Ohio  valley?  There  is  no  where 
any  thing  equal  to  it.  The  increase  of  Cincinnati, 
in  ten  years,  was  equal  to  the  entire  cities  of  Buffalo 
and  Detroit ! 

But  let  us  proceed  to  commercial  navigation.  In 
the  United  States  Steam  Marine  Report,  you  will 
find  a  full  and  complete  return  of  the  steam  vessels 
of  the  United  States,  their  localities,  tonnage,  and 
crews.  On  page  37,  you  will  find  that  on  the  Lakes 
above  Niagara  there  are  126  steamers,  with  crews 
of  about  2000  men;  on  the  Mississippi,  241  steam- 
ers, with  crews  of  6414  men;  and  on  the  Ohio  ba- 
sin, 317  steamers,  with  crews  of  8338  men.  You 
will  thus  see  that  the  steam  marine  of  the  Ohio  basin 
is  nearly  equal  to  that  of  the  upper  lakes  and  the 
Mississippi  river  together !  That  on  the  Ohio  is 
more  than  double  that  on  the  lakes.  When  you 
have  observed  this,  I  shall  ask  you  to  look  at  the 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  flatboats  which  descend 
the  Ohio,  laden  with  the  surplus  food,  provisions, 
and  minerals  of  the  valley.  Behold  the  thousands 
of  arrivals  of  flats  at  Cincinnati,  and  the  thousands 
of  steamboat  departures. 

Finally,  I  ask  you  to  consider  with  me  the  com- 
merce of  this  port.  Look  to  New  York,  one  thou- 
sand miles,  by  railway,  to  the  north-east;  and  New 
Orleans,  fifteen  hundred  miles,  by  steamboat,  to 
the    south-west.     Do    you   think  that  New   York 

railways  are  carrying  the  whole  surplus  of  the  Ohio 

I 

B 


u 

valley?  Then  count  the  thousands  and  tens  of 
thousands  of  barrels,  and  kegs,  and  hogsheads,  and 
boxes,  of  every  description  of  produce,  and  manu- 
factures made  from  grain,  or  animals  which  are  fill- 
ing those  hundreds  of  steamboats  and  flats,  on  their 
way  to  New  Orleans.  But  a  more  realizing  idea 
may,  perhaps,  be  formed  from  the  following  figures, 
representing  the  values  of  domestic  produce  re- 
ceived at  tidewater,  via  the  three  routes  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  the  Hudson,  and  the  Mississippi,  in  the 
year  1851. 

Tidewater,  via  St.  Lawrence,        $9,153,580 
via  Hudson,  $53,927,508 

via  Mississippi,        $108,051,708 

You  see  that  New  Orleans  has  just  double  the 
receipts  of  domestic  produce  that  New  York  has! 
Now  let  me  add  to  this,  that  the  receipts  last  year, 
at  New  Orleans,  of  corn,  flour,  the  products  of  the 
hog,  beef,  tobacco,  whiskey,  lead,  and  hemp — pro- 
ducts, almost  the  whole  of  which  are  shipped  from 
above  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  amounted  to  thirty- 
five  millions  of  dollars!  What  proportion  to  this 
vast  aggregate  is  the  produce  borne  on  the  Penn- 
sylvania works?  What  might  Philadelphia  have, 
if  she  had  only  the  advantages  by  art  w^hich  she 
has  by  nature?  It  is  fifteen  hundred  miles  from 
this  to  New  Orleans.  It  is  but  five  hundred  miles 
to  Philadelphia,  on  a  direct  line.  It  need  be  only 
six  hundred  and  forty  by  railway. 

Now,  what  proportion  do  the  products  of  the 
Lake  basin  bear  to  the  products  of  the  Ohio  val- 
ley?    If  you  examine  the  agricultural  statistics  of 


15 

the  United  States  census,  you  will  find  that  Indian 
corn  (the  basis  of  pork,  beef,  and  whiskey)  raised 
in  the  Ohio  valley  is  seven-fold  that  in  the  whole 
basin  of  the  Lakes;  that  the  live  stock  is  three 
times  as  great;  that  the  wheat  is  more  than  equal; 
that  tobacco  and  hemp  is  a  hundred-fold;  and  that, 
in  fine,  it  is  the  Ohio  valley  which  furnishes  the 
great  surpluses  of  western  produce.  It  is  in  con- 
sequence of  this  fact,  that  you  see  rapidly  central- 
izing on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  population,  pro- 
duction, and  commerce. 

One  last  illustration,  and  I  close  this  part  of  my 
discussion.  It  is  this  :  in  five  years  past,  the  com- 
merce of  Cincinnati  has  doubled;  and  at  the  pre- 
sent time,  the  process  of  increase  is  going  on  more 
rapidly  than  ever.  Instead  of  northern  lateral  rail- 
ways, diverting  commerce  from  the  valley,  the  very 
reverse  is  the  fact.  It  is  rapidly  concentrating  in 
the  cities  of  the  Ohio.  Their  commercial  arms  are 
already  extended  far  beyond  what  was  once  thought 
possible.  There  is  here  a  centralization  of  all  the 
elements,  which  make  and  extend  the  dominion  of 
commerce.  This  is  the  first  great  fact  to  be  recog- 
nised: for,  unless  you  realize  this  clearly  and 
strongly,  you  make  a  great  mistake,  as  to  the 
points  in  the  western  valley  with  which  you  should 
make  your  connections. 

In  succeeding  letters,  I  will  endeavour  to  show 

that  your  railways  may  yet  command  a  large  and 

full  share  of  that  immense  traffic  which  centralizes 

from  the  w^est,  south,  and  north,  on  the  banks  of 

the  Ohio. 

Yours  respectfully, 

EDW.  D.  MANSFIELD. 


16 


LETTER  II. 

Cincinnati f  December  3,  1852. 

J.  R.  Tyson,  Esq.  Philadelphia. 

Dear  Sir, — I  closed  my  last  letter,  with  a  view ' 
of  the  CENTRALIZATION  of  population,  production, 
and  commerce,  rapidly  going  on  in  the  valley  of 
the  Ohio.  In  that,  I  referred  to  the  extraordinary 
growth  of  trade  and  manufactures  in  Cincinnati. 
This  city  is  the  focal  point,  around  which  and  to 
which  gravitate  the  trade  of  the  region  I  described 
as  lying  between  north  Alabama  in  the  south,  and 
the  heads  of  those  short  streams,  which  flow  into 
Lake  Erie.  That  fact  you  can  examine  at  your 
leisure,  by  reference  to  various  statistical  docu- 
ments. I  now  proceed  more  directly  to  my  imme- 
diate subject,  the  railway  connections  of  Philadel- 
phia in  the  west.  The  first  great  fact  in  that 
discussion,  is  the  one  I  have  established,  that  Cin- 
cinnati is  the  point  to  which  you  must  direct  your 
primary  lines  of  railways.  The  next  is  the  concen- 
tration of  rvestern,  south-western,  and  southern  rail- 
rvays  at  Cincinnati,  and  on  the  southern  side  of 
Ohio,  up  to  Marietta.  The  importance  of  this  fact 
you  will  at  once  recognise,  when  you  consider 
that  one-half  the  surface,  and  one-third  the  popula- 
tion of  the  Ohio  valley  lies  south  of  the  river. 
There  is  not  a  town  on  the  Tennessee  river,  which 
does  not  trade  more  or  less  with  Cincinnati.     It  is 


17 

now  more  than  twenty  years  since  a  merchant  in- 
formed me,  that  he  had  a  regular  annual  trade  with 
Knoxville,  in  the  mountains  of  East  Tennessee. 
In  the  last  year,  I  was  informed  that  a  trade  had 
sprung  up  between  Cincinnati  and  Northern  Geor- 
gia, by  the  way  of  Nashville  and  Chattanooga. 
You  know,  that  the  railway  line  is  now  complete 
from  Chattanooga  to  Savannah,  Augusta  and 
Charleston;  and  that  it  is  nearly  finished  between 
Nashville  and  Chattanooga.  From  this  port  to 
Nashville,  steamboats  depart  every  day.  This  suf- 
ficiently explains  the  commencement  of  that  trade, 
which  now  but  a  mere  speck  on  the  horizon,  will 
soon  enlarge  to  an  object  of  great  magnitude. 
Let  me  here,  by  the  way,  hint  at  a  change  in  the 
trade  of  Atlantic  cities.  If  I  am  not  greatly  mis- 
taken, the  southern  towns  of  Wilmington,  Charles- 
ton, Savannah,  Augusta,  &c.,  have  received  from 
New  York  and  Boston,  a  considerable  amount  of 
produce,  the  growth  of  the  western  States.  These 
products  have  either  gone  by  the  way  of  the  lakes 
or  of  New  Orleans.  The  interior  routes  were 
closed  for  the  want  of  rapid  and  cheap  transporta- 
tion. But,  suppose  that  from  all  these  points  on 
the  Atlantic  there  proceed  railways  of  the  best  con- 
struction, at  half  the  cost  of  the  eastern  railways, 
to  all  the  grain-growing  States  in  the  valley  of  the 
Ohio,  how  long  would  these  places  receive  their 
supplies  by  the  circuitous  routes  of  New  York  and 
Boston? 

But  I  must  proceed ;  and,  in  order  to  make  these 
south-western  and  southern  connections  clear  to 
your  view,  I  will  simply  enumerate  the  railways,  di- 


18 

rect  and  indirect,  whose  eastern  Atlantic  business 
must  pass  through  Cincinnati,  or  on  some  part  of 
the  line  between  Cincinnati  and  Marietta. 

1.  The  Cincinnati  and  St.  Louis  line,  330  miles. 
You  will  readily  see  that,  as  this  is  the  most  south- 
erly east  and  west  line,  in  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illi- 
nois, that  all  the  railways  from  the  south,  crossing 
tlie  Ohio  river,  must  intersect  this  line,  and  that  the 
eastern  business  coming  upon  them  from  the  south, 
will  pass  over  this,  because  they  can  have  no  possi- 
ble interest  to  proceed  further  to  find  another  line. 

2.  The  Mobile  and  Ohio  line,  to  Salem,  Illinois, 
620  miles.  You  may  be  surprised  that  I  enumerate 
this  work.  But  just  imagine  yourself  at  any  point 
from  Mobile  to  Illinois,  and  intending  to  go  on  to 
Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  or  New  York,  and  that 
these  railways  are  finished;  how  could  you  reach 
those  cities  so  short  or  quick  as  by  passing  on  the 
Mobile  road  to  Salem  (111.)?  and  thence  directly 
east,  through  Cincinnati  ?  Certainly  that  would  be 
the  easiest  and  most  direct  route  from  any  point  in 
Western  Kentucky,  or  Western  Tennessee,  or  from 
Arkansas  beyond  them. 

3.  The  Evansville  and  Timbuctoo  Rail  Road,  50 
miles  from  Vincennes,  to  Evansville,  and  thence 
by  Henderson  to  Nashville. 

4.  The  New  Albany  and  Salem  Rail  Road,  62 
miles  from  Orleans  to  New  Albany  and  Louisville, 
thence  to  Nashville 

5.  The  Jeflfersonville  (Louisville)  Rail  Road, 
from  Columbus  (Ind.),  70  miles. 

6.  The  Madison  and  Indianapolis  Rail  Road,  50 
miles  to  Madison  (Ind.),  on  the  Ohio. 


19 


7.  At  Cincinnati,  the  Covington,  Lexington,  and 
Danville  Rail  Road,  106  miles  to  Danville  (Ky.). 
Thence  three  railways  are  chartered,  and  part  of 
the  stock  obtained;  one  to  Nashville,  one  to 
M'Minnville,  and  the  other  to  Knoxville  (Tenn.). 
I  have  no  doubt  all  will  be  made,  because  they  are 
essential  to  the  interests  of  Kentucky  and  Tennes- 
see. The  last  one  (to  Knoxville,  Tenn.),  will  com- 
plete the  grand  iron  highway  from  Cincinnati  to 
Charleston,  S.  C,  which  was  planned  in  this  city  in 
1836,  and  in  which  the  late  Dr.  Daniel  Drake;  Go- 
vernor Vance,  of  Ohio ;  the  late  General  Hayne,  of 
S.  C;  the  late  General  James  Taylor,  of  Kentucky; 
Judge  Hall,  of  this  city,  and  other  eminent  citizens, 
were  zealous  coadjutors.  In  this  enterprise,  and 
with  such  associates,  longo  intervallo,  I  took  a  zeal- 
ous, if  not  an  efficient  part.  I  looked  enough  into 
that  subject  to  be  thoroughly  convinced  that  it  was 
one  of  the  most  important  enterprises  which  could 
engage  the  attention  of  the  commercial  public. 

8.  Maysville  and  Lexington  Rail  Road,  70  miles. 
This  is  in  course  of  construction,  and,  when  finish- 
ed, will  be  continued  in  Ohio  to  the  point  of  inter- 
section with  the  eastern  line. 

9.  Lexington  and  Big  Sandy  Rail  Road,  128 
miles.  This  line  has  recently  received  large  stock 
subscriptions,  and  is,  I  imagine,  but  little  understood 
in  the  Atlantic  cities.  I  will  call  your  attention 
to  a  single  fact;  that  from  Lexington,  the  heart  of 
Kentucky  (where  there  will  be  a  centralization  of 
railways),  to  a  point  on  the  Cincinnati  and  Marietta 
line,  between  M 'Arthur  and  Athens,  will  be  178 
miles,  while  from  Lexington  to  the  same  point,  via 


20 

Cincinnati,  will  be  228  miles.     This  will  make  a 
cut-off  of  about  fifty  miles. 

10.  The  "Richmond  and  Ohio  Rail  Road"  has 
been  chartered  by  the  Legislature  of  Virginia,  to 
construct  a  railway  from  Lynchburg,  connecting 
with  Richmond,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Ken- 
hawa.  The  "  Central  Rail  Road,"  now  constructing, 
or  this  company,  it  seems  now  understood,  will 
complete  this  work,  either  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ken- 
tucky or  that  of  the  Big  Sandy.  It  may  take  some 
years  in  a  country  of  so  thin  a  population,  and  dif- 
ficult mountains,  to  finish  this  enterprise;  but  I  have 
no  doubt  that  a  great  line  to  Richmond  will  ultimate- 
ly be  made  to  terminate  either  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Kenhawa,  the  Big  Sandy,  or  the  Guyandotte.  A 
connection  with  the  Cincinnati  and  Marietta  line 
will  be  made  in  about  50  miles,  and  open  to  that 
work  a  communication  with  the  interior  of  Ken- 
tucky and  Virginia;  a  vast  productive  region,  as  yet 
scarcely  visible  to  commerce,  which  seems  merely 
to  skirt  its  borders. 

In  reviewing  what  I  have  said  above,  on  southern 
and  south-western  connections,  you  will  see  that 
there  are  no  less  than  ten  lines  of  railway  coming 
from  the  south  side  of  the  central  line  through  St. 
Louis,  Cincinnati,  and  Marietta,  to  intersect  that 
line.  Of  these,  six  come  in  between  Cincinnati  and 
St.  Louis;  one  at  Cincinnati,  and  three  between  Cin- 
cinnati and  Marietta.  These  lines  comprise  1,600 
miles  at  least,  without  going  further  south  than  Dan- 
ville, Kentucky.  But,  if  we  were  to  count  the  con- 
tinuances beyond  that  point,  as  they  will  exist  in  not 
more  than  three  years  from  this  time,  we  should 


21 

count  thousands  on  thousands  of  miles,  connecting 
this  city  with  every  point  from  Charleston  to  New 
Orleans,  But  I  need  go  no  further  than  I  have  done, 
in  order  to  excite  you,  a  citizen  of  Philadelphia,  zeal- 
ous for  her  welfare,  to  the  most  earnest  attention. 
How  else,  than  by  some  one  or  all  these  south-west- 
ern connections,  will  you  reach  that  half  of  the  Ohio 
valley,  south  of  the  river?  How  else  reach  the  val- 
leys of  the  Kenhawa  and  the  Sandy,  in  Western 
Virginia?  How  else  reach  Lexington  and  Dan- 
ville, and  the  Green  River,  and  Nashville,  and 
Knoxville,  and  that  immense  country  which,  even 
yet,  almost  in  the  repose  of  nature,  seems  to  be  un- 
known, terra  incognita,  to  Atlantic  cities?  I  sup- 
pose that  Philadelphia  will  scarcely  consent  to 
make  her  highway  to  the  south-west  through  the 
streets  of  Baltimore  and  Richmond.  Nor  is  there 
the  least  necessity  for  it ;  and,  in  another  letter,  if 
your  patience  be  not  too  severely  tried,  I  will  sketch 
some  of  the  connections  Philadelphia  has  already 
made,  and  some  which,  in  my  opinion,  she  ought  to 
make. 

Yours,  &c.  ^c. 

EDW.  D.  MANSFIELD. 


22 


LETTER  III. 

Cincinnati,  December  6,  1852. 

J.  R.  Tyson,  Esq.,  Philadelphia. 

My  dear  Sir, — My  subject  enlarges  as  I  proceed, 
and  there  seems  to  be  no  way  of  bringing  my  re- 
marks within  reasonable  limits  but  by  treating  it  in 
the  briefest  manner,  without  even  referring  to  the 
vast  aggregate  and  variety  of  that  commerce  which 
offers  itself  to  the  capital  and  enterprise  of  Atlantic 
merchants.  At  this  moment,  as  my  pen  traces  these 
lines,  there  is  a  fact  before  my  eyes,  pregnant  with 
a  volume  of  illustration  upon  what  I  have  just  said 
upon  the  necessity  of  securing  the  best  and  short- 
est connection  with  that  part  of  the  Ohio  valley, 
south  of  the  Ohio  river.  It  is  a  drove  of  cattle  from 
Bourbon  county  (Ky.),  driven  to  Cincinnati,  he7'e  to 
be  put  in  railway  cars  for  New  York.  Now,  mark; 
these  cattle  formerly  took  the  route  by  Maysville, 
&c.,  to  get  to  the  National  Road,  and  thence  to 
Philadelphia  and  New  York — your  city  being  the 
■preferred  market.  Now,  suppose  the  railways  were 
finished  from  Central  Kentucky  to  the  Big  Sandy, 
thence  to  the  Marietta  Railway,  and  thence  a  rail- 
way connecting  the  Marietta  with  the  Hempfield 
Rail  Road,  do  you  not  see  that  these  cattle  would 
resume  their  old  route  and  be  carried  to  Philadel- 
phia? Could  the  owners  have  any  temptation  to 
take  them  on  any  other  route  ?  And,  are  you  aware 


23 

that  this  cattle  trade  is  a  large  and  extensive  branch 
of  business?  It  may  be  taken,  simply,  as  an  illus- 
tration of  the  trade  of  Kentucky,  and  of  the  ease 
with  which  it  may  be  diverted,  by  quicker  modes  of 
transportation,  from  long  established  routes.  But  I 
must  return  to  the  main  topic. 

In  tracing  what  Philadelphia  was,  when  she  was 
in  advance  of  her  sister  cities,  you  say,  "  the 
rich  trade  of  the  west  seemed  destined  by  nature, 
aided  by  the  facilities  of  improved  roads,  to  centre 
in  Philadelphia."  This  is  true.  At  that  time  Penn- 
sylvania was  distinguished  for  her  superior  turnpike 
roads,  and  Pittsburg  was  on  the  highway  to  the  cen- 
tral west.  But  new  modes  of  conveyance  came,  and 
the  currents  of  commerce  changed  their  course. 
There  was  not  only  the  Erie  Canal,  but  the  National 
Road  to  Wheeling,  which,  I  assure  you,  made  a 
great  change  in  the  relations  which  Baltimore  bore 
to  the  west.  Recently,  again,  you  have  the  Erie 
Rail  Road  on  your  northern  flank,  and  now  you 
have  its  continuance  in  the  Lake  Shore  Rail  Road. 
To-day  cattle  are  passing  from  Cincinnati  to  New 
York  on  an  uninterrupted  line  of  railway,  884  miles 
in  length,  instead  of  going  to  Philadelphia,  which 
by  railway  may  be  made  250  miles  less  !  But  you 
have  no  such  continuous  railway.  The  first  effect 
of  the  Erie  Rail  Road  on  Philadelphia  has  been  a 
good  one.  It  has  produced  that  great  and  noble 
work,  the  Pennsylvania  Rail  Road,  which,  when  it 
has  been  completed  round  the  portage  summit,  will 
be  one  of  the  finest  and  most  successful  monuments 
erected  to  the  railway  enterprise  of  this  country. 
But  will  you  stop  there  ?   Can  you  stop  there  ?   How 


24 

do  you  propose  to  connect  with  Cincinnati?  But  if 
you  have  arranged  that,  how  do  you  propose  to 
connect  with  the  southern  part  of  the  Ohio  valley, 
rvith  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  and  Western  Vir- 
ginia! I  confess  to  have  seen  no  Philadelphia 
plan  which  meets  that  case. 

Let  me  review,  distinctly,  what  Philadelphia  has, 
so  far,  proposed  in  her  railway  connections  with 
the  west ;  and  what  I  think  remains  to  he  done. 

First.  You  have,  or  propose  to  have,  direct  rail- 
ways to  Erie,  and  to  Cleveland;  and  you  will  have 
a  tolerably  direct  one  to  Sandusky,  by  Mansfield. 
These  are  lake  ports,  and  will  give  you  a  fair  share 
in  the  business  of  the  Lake  Basin. 

Secondly.  You  have  continuances  in  Ohio,  Indi- 
ana, &c.,  of  the  Pennsylvania  Central  Railway; 
one  by  Massillon,  Wooster,  &c.^  and  the  other  by 
Steubenville.  These  lines  will  connect  you  with 
northern  and  central  parts  of  Ohio  and  Indiana. 

Thirdly.  You  have  one  Ohio  line,  which  pro- 
poses to  conduct  you  to  Cincinnati,  via  Zanesville, 
Circleville,  and  Wilmington;  quite  a  direct  route. 
But  mark — to  avail  yourselves  at  all  of  this  line, 
you  are  obliged  to  depart  from  the  original  route,  by 
Pittsburg.  You  do  this  by  the  Hempfield  cut-off 
(a  lucky  thought!),  and  without  which,  you  can 
have  no  direct  route  to  the  valley  of  the  Ohio. 
Such  a  route  requires  you  to  be  at  Wheeling. 

Now  if,  as  I  deem  inevitable,  there  be  cut-offs 
from  Lexington  (Ky.)  to  Maysville,  and  the  mouth 
of  the  Big  Sandy,  especially  the  latter,  horv  do  you 
propose  to  connect  with  these  cut-offs?  Horv  do 
you  propose  to  secure  to  Philadelphia  a  fair  compe- 
tition in  the  trade  of  Kentucky,  Tennessee,   and 


25 

Western  Virginia?  If,  for  example,  those  cattle  of 
which  I  spoke,  or  certain  hogsheads  of  tobacco,  or 
bales  of  hemp,  are  to  be  transported  to  Philadel- 
phia by  the  short  route,  can  they  come  on  either  of 
the  above  described  lines?  Not  one  of  them.  They 
will  pass  on  to  the  Cincinnati  and  Belpre  Rail 
Road,  and  thence  to  Baltimore.  Observe,  you 
have  no  connection  between  any  one  of  your  lines, 
and  the  Cincinnati  and  Marietta  railway;  none 
whatever.  It  is  exactly  that  connection — from  Ma- 
rietta to  Wheeling — you  need.  You  cannot  pass 
westwardly  over  the  mountains  of  Virginia.  You 
must  take  an  Ohio  valley  line,  and  that,  where 
your  Hempfield  Rail  Road  terminates.  In  one 
word,  you  must  complete  the  connection  between 
Wheeling  and  Marietta  on  one  side,  and  the  Hemp- 
field  road  on  the  other,  in  order  to  have  any  connec- 
tion whatever  with  the  south-west  by  the  Lexington 
cut-offs.  The  gulf  between  you  cannot  be  passed  in 
any  other  rvay.  If  you  make  not  the  connection 
from  the  southern  bend  of  the  Pennsylvania  Cen- 
tral Rail  Road  and  Marietta,  in  Ohio,  you  leave 
Baltimore  without  a  rival  in  all  the  eastern  busi- 
ness which  those  cut-ofifs  may  produce.  But  I  will 
follow  each  of  your  connections,  by  Pittsburg  or 
Wheeling,  as  they  are  traced  on  the  map,  and  I  re- 
quest your  attention  to  the  result. 

Suppose  New  York  and  Philadelphia  at  one  end 
of  the  line,  and  Cincinnati  at  the  other — the  object 
being  to  connect  the  centres  of  commerce  on  the 
Atlantic  with  the  centre  of  commerce  in  the  Ohio 
valley.  I  have  a  map  before  me,  by  which  the  ex- 
isting railways  now  undertaken  between  these 
points,  appear  as  follow : — 


26 

1.  The  New  York,  Albany,  and  Buffalo  line, 

via  Albany,  Buffalo,  Cleveland,  and  Co-     MUes. 
lumbus,  to  Cincinnati,  on  the  Ohio,  -     922 

2.  The  New  York  and  Erie  line,  via  Dun- 
kirk and  Cleveland,  _         -         _         _     872 

3.  Philadelphia  line,  via  Pittsburg,  Massillon, 
Wooster,  Gallion  and  Columbus,     -         -     716 

4.  Philadelphia,  via  Pittsburg,  Steubenville, 
Coshocton  and  Columbus,        _         _        _     657 

5.  Philadelphia,    via   Hempfield,    Wheeling, 
Zanesville,  Circleville  and  Wilmington,         643 

Now  what  is  this  but  a  series  of  concentric 
curves  ?  The  inner  curves  have  been  successively 
made,  or  undertaken,  not  merely  for  local  advan- 
tages, but  by  vast  expenditures  of  New  York  and 
Philadelphia  capital,  for  the  purpose  of  getting  the 
shortest  line.  New  York,  by  great  energy  and  im- 
mense sums,  amounting  to  about  thirty  millions  of 
dollars,  has  succeeded  in  making  the  outer,  or  cir- 
cumferential curve,  first;  and  of  course  reaping  the 
first  harvest.  Next  we  find  Philadelphia  energeti- 
cally pushing  her  great  central  trunk  towards  Pitts- 
burg, her  ancient  friend  and  ally,  and  that  ally 
wisely  endeavouring  to  concentrate  all  of  Phila- 
delphia influence  and  enterprise  through  herself. 
What  has  been  done  in  that  regard  is  well  done. 
But  has  it  attained  the  nearest  route  to  Cincinnati, 
much  less  to  the  coveted  trade  of  the  south-west? 
On  the  contrary,  the  first  Pittsburg  curve  through 
Wooster  is  nearly  an  hundred  miles  out  of  the 
way!  Next  we  have  the  Steubenville  line,  much 
shorter,  but  still  not  attaining  the  object  of  the 


21 

shortest  line.  Nor  is  it  yossihle  for  any  Pittsburg 
route  to  attain  that  end,  for  di  physical  reason,  which 
nothing  can  overcome.  Pittsburg  is  no  less  than 
sixty  miles,  on  a  straight  line,  north  of  the  direct 
line  between  Philadelphia  and  Cincinnati.  This  is 
decisive.  Rail  roads  cannot  be  made  on  straight 
lines,  but  they  can  approximate  them  much  nearer 
than  that. 

Finally,  we  have  the  Hempfield  route,  which  cuts 
off  the  Pittsburg  angle,  and  reaches  the  Ohio  river 
at  Wheeling,  in  the  same  distance  that  the  Pitts- 
burg line  reaches  it  at  Steubenville.  Taking  there 
the  Zanesville,  Circleville,  and  Wilmington  Rail 
Road,  Philadelphia  arrives  at  Cincinnati  by  the 
shortest  of  all  the  curves  yet  positively  undertaken. 
But  has  Philadelphia  yet  come  within  sight  of  the 
great  harvest  fields  of  the  south-western  trade? 
Not  at  all.  Unless  you  do  more  than  that,  there 
is  a  gulf  between  you  and  the  south-western  lines 
of  Ohio  and  Kentucky;  and  till  you  pass  that  gulf, 
you  cannot  connect  with  the  south-western  lines, 
except  at  Cincinnati,  where  you  are  met  with  com- 
petition from  every  quarter  of  the  compass.  Can- 
not you  meet  the  cut-off  lines  to  Lexington  and  the 
south-west,  before  you  reach  there,  just  as  well  as 
Baltimore  can?  To  go  to  Cincinnati,  and  there 
meet  the  great  line  to  St.  Louis,  and  the  net-work 
of  railways  spread  through  the  valley  and  there 
concentrating,  was,  I  have  endeavoured  to  show, 
your  first  great  object.  But  there  is  certainly  ano- 
ther, and  one  of  no  small  importance  to  you.  That 
is,  to  share  with  Baltimore  the  trade  coming  up 
through  Central  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  in  search 
of  the  shortest  route  to  the  east.     I  will  endeavour 


28 

to  show  one  way  in  which  this  can  he  accomplished 
by  present  charters,  and  with  little  additional  capi- 
tal. 

The  first  thing  to  be  observed  is,  that  the  object 
of  all  the  lines  which  I  have  above  referred  to, 
is  to  attain  a  direct  line,  or  as  near  to  it  as  possible, 
between  the  connected  points.  Hence  each  new 
plan  proposes  to  move  on  a  shorter  curve;  and,  in 
the  table  above,  you  see  the  results.  Now  let  us 
begin  where  we  mean  to  end.  Where  is  the  straight 
line  from  Philadelphia  to  Cincinnati  ?  What  places 
does  it  touch,  and  where  does  it  deflect  from  the 
above  lines?  Take  your  map,  and  lay  a  straight 
line  from  Philadelphia  to  Cincinnati,  and  you  will 
find  that  Chillicothe  and  Marietta  are  precisely 
on  that  straight  line;  and  that  ever^/  place  on  the 
connecting  lines,  before  described,  is  north  of  that 
line;  or,  as  I  have  already  said,  on  curves  receding 
more  and  more  from  the  diameter.  Columbus  is 
40  miles,  Zanesville  30,  Pittsburg  60  miles  from 
the  straight  line. 

Now,  the  Cincinnati  and  Marietta  Railway  has 
its  entire  line  under  contract,  and  much  of  it  is  nearly 
graded.  The  whole  distance  is  about  180  miles, 
and  is  nearly  as  direct  as  can  possibly  be  made.  It  is 
plain  that  this  entire  line  is  in  Ohio,  on  the  straight 
line  to  Philadelphia  ;  and  that  nothing  more  direct 
can  possibly  be  obtained.  You  will  also  see  that 
the  Lexington  and  Big  Sandy  Rail  Road,  as  well 
as  the  Lexington  and  Maysville  Road  will  be  pro- 
longed to  the  Marietta  line,  on  the  ancient  and 
natural  routes  to  the  north-east. 

You  will  again  observe,  that  the  Cincinnati  and 


29 

Marietta  line  have  also  a  termination  at  Belpre,  12 
miles  below  Marietta,  where  they  will  connect  with 
the  North  Western  Rail  Road,  on  the  line  to  Bal- 
timore. Now,  is  it  not  self-evident  that,  with  this 
most  direct  line  to  the  east,  in  Ohio,  with  south- 
western rail  roads  connecting  with  Lexington, 
Knoxville,  Chattanooga  and  Nashville,  intersecting 
this  line,  with  all  of  them  connecting  with  Balti- 
more by  Parkersburg,  and  Philadelphia  having  no 
connection  with  the  Cincinnati  line  and  Marietta  ;  is 
it  not  evident,  I  say,  that  Philadelphia  can  make  no 
competition  with  Baltimore;  that  she  cannot  even 
share  in  that  trade,  which  must  inevitably  fall  into 
the  Marietta  and  Belpre  line,  south-east  of  Cincin- 
nati? I  shall  not  elaborate  this  point.  The  map 
and  the  table  of  distances  will  demonstrate  what  I 
have  said.  I  shall  not  stop  to  prove  how  valuable 
that  trade  is;  but  I  proceed  at  once  to  the  important 
inquiry,  what  shall  Philadelphia  do  to  share  in  the 
south-western  trade  of  Ohio,  Kentucky  and  Ten- 
nessee ?  To  Marietta  is  the  straight  line.  If  it 
were  continued  east,  it  would  cross  a  portion  of 
Virginia,  But  there  are,  at  present,  two  obstacles 
seemingly  insuperable.  The  first  is  the  refusal  of 
Virginia  to  grant  charters;  and  the  second  is,  that 
you  are  probably  shut  in,  by  the  mountains,  to  the 
valley  of  the  Juniatta.  What  remains  to  be  done, 
then,  is  to  connect  Marietta  rvith  the  Philadelphia 
Ceritral  Rail  Road,  hy  the  Hempjield  route.  I  am 
aware  that  this  is  not  geographically  so  direct  as  if 
you  could  have  crossed  Virginia,  but  it  requires  lit- 
tle to  be  done,  and  that  little  will  be  of  immense 
advantage  to  the  interior  commerce  of  Philadelphia. 
I) 


30 

In  Ohio,  you  will  observe,  it  is  altogether  the  most 
direct  route,  intersecting  the  river,  in  fifty  miles 
less  distance  than  any  Ii?ie  north  of  it. 

From  Marietta  to  Wheeling  this  line  will  lie  in 
the  immediate  valley  of  the  Ohio,  where  it  is  easy 
of  construction,  and  where  the  obstructions  in  the 
river  and  the  products  of  the  valley,  will  conspire  to 
give  it  a  profitable  local  traffic.  The  distance  cannot 
much  exceed  70  miles,  which,  with  the  Hempfield 
Railway,  will  make  but  146  miles  from  Greensburg 
to  the  Ohio,.  170  miles  below  Pittsburg! 

I  will  close  this,  I  fear  tedious  letter,  with  a  brief 
review  of  some  of  the  consequences  which  you  may 
expect  to  result  from  this  single  connection,  unim- 
portant, as  it  might  seem  at  the  first  glance.  I  have 
said  that  the  railways  from  Lexington,  pointing  to 
Maysville  and  the  Big  Sandy,  are  inevitable.  That 
to  Maysville  is  under  contract,  and  large  subscrip- 
tions have  been  made  to  the  other.  Now,  if  these 
lines  are  made,  your  connections  with  the  south  will 
be  formed  thus : 

From  Philadelphia  to  Nashville — 

To  Greensburg, 
Wheeling, 
Marietta, 
Big  Sandy, 
Lexington  (Ky.), 
Danville, 
Nashville, 

Aggregate, 


326  miles 

72 

72 

110 

128 

36 

170 

914  miles. 

748  miles 

70     „ 

80     „ 

60     „ 

958  miles 

31 

Philadelphia  to  Chattanooga- 

As  above — to  Danville, 

to  Barkersville  (Ky.), 
to  M'Minnville  (Tenn.), 
to  Chattanooga, 

Aggregate, 


From  Nashville  to  Chattanooga,  being  120  miles, 
you  will  see  that  the  M'Minnville  route  is  a  cut-off 
of  80  miles,  from  the  Nashville  route  to  the  same 
point.  The  Big  Sandy  line  is  a  cut-off  oi  50  miles 
from  Cincinnati,  so  that,  if  you  desire  to  reach 
Chattanooga,  the  central  point  of  the  southern  rail- 
ways, the  connection  from  Hempfield  to  Marietta 
gives  you  a  clear  gain  of  130  miles. 

From  Philadelphia  to  Knoxville — 

As  above — to  Danville,         -         748  miles, 
to  Barboursville,  70     ,, 

to  Knoxville,       -         100     ,, 


Aggregate,  918  miles. 


I  shall  pursue  these  illustrations  no  further.  It 
is  enough  to  say,  that  so  far  as  the  south-west  (in- 
cluding the  whole  country  south  of  the  Ohio  river) 
is  concerned,  Philadelphia  can  reach  it  in  no  way 
so  short  as  by  Marietta.  Nay,  unless  that  connec- 
tion be  made,  Baltimore  will  have  undisputed  pos- 
session of  the  entire   field.     So  far  as  Baltimore 


32 

herself  is  concerned,  the  people  of  the  west  will 
have  no  objections.  She  is  an  energetic  and  pros- 
perous city,  whose  plans  for  the  western  trade  have 
been  wisely  laid,  and  most  vigorously  pursued.  She 
well  deserves  all  that  she  can  acquire.  But,  you 
can  readily  see,  that  if  it  be  desirable  for  the  At- 
lantic cities  to  share  in  our  commerce,  so,  also,  it 
is  desirable  for  us  to  increase  the  number  of  our 
markets.  We  welcome  every  arm  extended  to  us 
from  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific.  I 
have  only  aimed  to  prove,  in  this  letter,  that  Phila- 
delphia can  add  one  more,  to  the  advantage  of  the 
country  and  her  own  great  profit. 
I  remain  yours, 

EDW.  D.  MANSFIELD. 


33 


LETTER  IV. 

Cincinnati,  December  10,  1852. 
J.  R.  Tyson,  Esq.  Philadelphia. 

My  dear  sir, — I  must  close  this  long,  but  I  hope 
not  useless  correspondence,  with  a  very  brief  re- 
view of  what  has  been  said. 

You  have  said  much,  and  well,  on  the  loss  Phi- 
ladelphia sustained  in  relinquishing  her  foreign 
trade;  or,  at  least,  in  suffering  it  to  decline,  as 
compared  with  New  York.  You  have  recognised, 
most  clearly,  the  great  value  of  her  internal  trade, 
and  the  necessity  of  enlarging  it.  The  great  point, 
however,  to  be  referred  to,  in  that  respect,  is  that 
New  York  has  gained  as  much,  in  the  western  as  in 
the  foreign  commerce.  How  ?  Simply  by  com- 
pleting, first  and  best,  a  canal,  and  then  a  railway 
route  to  the  west.  When  Philadelphia  took  the 
lead  in  turnpike  roads  to  Pittsburg,  and  those  roads 
were  the  best  conveyance,  then  she  almost  controlled 
the  commerce  of  the  west.  How  is  it  now?  Why 
has  she  not  as  large  a  proportion  of  that  trade  now? 
Has  nature  changed?  Is  she  not  nearer  to  it  in  situ- 
ation, than  New  York  or  Boston?  Certainly.  But, 
as  in  the  case  of  her  State  works,  she  hOiS  followed 
New  York  at  such  a  distance,  that  New  York  has 
gained  by  art  what  she  had  not  by  nature.  New 
York  has  now  expended  fiftij  millions  of  dollars  in 
the  Buffalo  and  Erie  lines  of  railway  and  their  con- 


34 

tinuances  in  Ohio.  I  suppose  that  Philadelphia 
will,  perhaps,  in  the  course  of  the  next  year,  have 
expended  idho\e  ffteen  millions,  in  the  Pennsylvania 
Central  and  its  continuances.  Now  it  is  obvious  to 
my  mind,  that  less  that  Jive  millions  more,  making 
not  one-half  the  expenditure  of  New  York,  will  do 
all  that  you  need  do,  to  resume  your  old  and  natural 
connections  with  the  central  west.  You  should 
aid  the  southern  lines  in  Ohio  as  far  as  possible. 
You  should  have  the  Hempfield  cut-off  completed, 
as  speedily  as  possible.  You  should  subscribe  what- 
ever is  necessary  to  secure  a  connection  with  the 
Hempfield  and  Marietta  line.  Your  merchants 
should  see  to  it,  when  these  lines  are  finished,  that 
they  have  uniform,  cheap,  and  continuous  tariffs 
for  Philadelphia  freight  to  Wheeling,  Cincinnati, 
St.  Louis,  Louisville,  Lexington,  and  Nashville. 
With  these  things  done,  Philadelphia  merchants 
will  stand,  in  regard  to  all  means  of  conveyance, 
on  equal  terms  with  those  of  Baltimore,  and  with 
decided  advantage  over  those  of  New  York. 

From  the  Hempfield  road  to  Marietta,  and  from 
Marietta  to  St.  Louis,  the  entire  line  is  a  valley 
line;  and,  as  you  will  observe,  an  Axial  Line. 
From  Wheeling  to  Marietta  it  is  nearly  on  the 
river,  through  a  good  country,  and  easily  construct- 
ed. Two  hours,  at  most,  will  be  sufl^icient  to  ac- 
complish that  distance.  From  Marietta  to  Cincin- 
nati is  a  crT-OFF  of  the  Ohio;  the  river  distance 
being  280  miles,  and  the  railway  180  miles.  From 
Greensburg  to  Cincinnati,  on  this  line,  will  be  328 
miles;  by  Pittsburg,  350";  by  river,  500. 

From   Greensburg  to  Lexington  (Ky.),  via  Big 


35 

Sandy,    will   be    375   miles;    via    Cincinnati    and 
Wheeling,  413  miles;  via  Pittsburg,  440  miles. 

I  need  not  repeat  the  statements  I  have  made  in 
previous  letters,  but  proceed  to  some  general  re- 
llections.  If  the  policy  I  have  recommended  be 
adopted,  at  the  end  of  two  years  from  this  time 
Philadelphia  will  have  a  direct,  continuous  rail- 
way to  every  considerable  town  in  the  Ohio  valley  ! 

I  think  you  may  take  it  for  granted,  there  will 
be,  in  a  very  short  period,  twelve  thousand  miles  of 
railway  in  the  four  States  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois 
and  Kentucky!  With  every  mile  of  that  immense 
track  you  may  be  connected!  Can  you  imagine 
the  social  and  commercial  influences  of  such  a  fact 
on  the  growth  and  wealth  of  Philadelphia?  All 
experience  must  deceive  us  if  its  influence  be  not 
immense. 

Let  me  advert  to  another  thing  which,  with  capi- 
talists, has  properly  great  weight.  This  is  the  profits 
of  the  investment.  I  am  not  an  advocate  of  railway, 
or  any  other  speculations;  but,  till  the  west  has  an 
amount  of  railway  much  beyond  that  of  which  I 
have  spoken,  there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that 
they  will  be  highly  profitable.  Two  considerations 
are  sufficient  to  make  that  manifest.  Rail  roads, 
west  of  the  Alleghenies,  are  constructed,  on  an  ave- 
rage, at  65  per  cent,  of  the  cost  of  those  east  of  the 
Alleghenies.  On  the  other  hand,  the  surplus  pro- 
ducts of  the  country  are  much  greater.  Take  these 
two  facts  together,  and  it  is  certain,  that  under 
equal  circumstances,  the  western  railways  must  be 
the  most  profitable.  In  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  they 
must  be  peculiarly   so   for    the    reasons   given   in 


36 

this  discussion.  The  only  railways  finished  in  Ohio 
are  making  immense  profits.  I  have  one  in  my 
mind  which,  after  dividing  10  per  cent.,  has  8  per 
cent,  of  surplus  funds.  In  other  words,  it  has  made 
18  per  cent.,  nett profit,  out  of  the  year's  business! 
Considered,  then,  as  mere  investment,  I  think  all 
the  present  enterprises  will  be  profitable.  There 
certainly  marj  be  a  time  when  as  in  England,  they 
will  be  pushed  far  beyond  the  bounds  of  prudence. 
That  time  is  not  yet.  Sagacious  men  will  see  it  in 
advance ;  and  it  certainly  will  not  come  till  far  more 
is  done,  than  all  of  which  I  have  here  spoken. 

And  now,  sir,  if  you  have  found  these  remarks 
sufficiently  interesting  to  be  read  to  the  end,  I  have 
accomplished  something. 

As  you  have  spoken  of  foreign  commerce,  and 
I  of  internal  trade,  I  think  we  shall  both  agree, 
that  it  is  a  self-dependent  power,  which  must,  at  last, 
sustain  men,  cities,  and  States.  Domestic  industry 
is  the  first  great  element  of  wealth. 

"  Self-depeudent  power  shall  time  defy, 
As  rocks  resist  the  billows  and  the  sky." 

With  good  wishes  for  yourself,  and  the  prosperity 
of  your  city, 

I  remain 

Yours,  respectfully, 

EDW.  D.  MANSFIELD. 


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